Bonded rabbits fighting

Hello, I'm new to the forum and a new bunny owner as of Friday last week. I really need some advice as our rabbits have been fighting!! We adopted a pair of rescue bunnies (male and female both neutered and spayed) who had been successfully bonded for a good few months. We brought them home on Friday are keeping them as indoor rabbits in a large c&c cage with some hidey houses boredom breakers and lots of hay. Since Friday they've been settling in well and getting along fine, there was a tiny bit of chasing by the dominant rabbit but nothing extreme and we put this down to being in a new home. However my partner came home today to find their area in a huge mess with fur everywhere. They were very agitated and in the middle of a fight. Luckily there was no blood but it seemed intense. My partner separated them initially but then put them in their pet carrier together for 30 minutes and tidied their accommodation. Because they in quite a large area we decided to make their accommodation space smaller for now incase the size is causing problems as its so new for them. At the moment they seem calmer and are both eating which is good but am worried about leaving them alone tonight. The odd thing is that it's the non dominant rabbit that seems to be causing the fighting (that we've observed) and the dominant one is really scared and on edge.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Is there anything we can do? Is this normal for some rabbit pairs? As we're new to this we are worried we'll ruin their bond so any help really much appreciated! Thank you.

I don't have much experience in this area.
But the new space, being made larger could be causing the hierarchy to change.
I'd sleep in their room tonight so I wake if any fights and keep the space small for around a week, only increasing it after that week if no fighting.

(Sorry, on 1% so have to leave a vague response.)
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Hello and welcome to RU.
As you say it could be down to having extra space / new home, perhaps you could contact the rescue for advice?

Another thing to also consider is that one of the rabbits may be poorly/ in pain as this can sometimes cause fighting too. Just something to bear in mind.

I hope things settle down for them (and you) :thumb:

Thanks for your help both. Since we made their area smaller they have been getting on, some snuggling and grooming (not lots) and no more fighting. However, the last couple of days Larry has been pulling out Mollys fur and biting her. I'm worried he's got some sort of behavioural problem as he seems relaxed one minute and then is more aggressive the next. Molly is very consistent and loving and so far just runs away and isn't fighting back. For example just now, they were grooming one another and Molly fell asleep, Larry started digging hard then bit Molly and had a big tuft of her hair in his mouth... What do you thinks going on? I'm worried Mollys being bullied and can't relax in her own space. Should I separate them and accept that Larry might never calm down?

It could be the upheaval of moving to a new home as things like this do upset them. Have they got somewhere to hide in this enclosure, also have they got lots of hay to keep them occupied? It could be they were outdoor rabbits so being inside is strange for them (or the one behaving badly). You don't have any other animals in the house which might be upsetting them?

Thanks for getting back to me. They only have a wooden hide which is where they sleep, it's big enough for them both to snuggle in. We had a few more hidey houses but took them away when Larry was being territorial a couple of weeks ago, so we've just got the one now. I could add one back in and see what happens? They have lots of hay in their litter boxes and a hanging ball with hay on the side of the pen, as well as chew mats and a few toys. We don't have any animals in the house but I think you're right about them taking a while to get used to being indoors, they have both had a sad start to life. This is part of the reason I'm worried Larry has some behavioural problems as I think he might have been separated from him mum too early. They are currently in a 6x3 pen and we let them run around the room morning and evening (we plan to increase this as the weeks go on but don't want to rush it). Should we keep them together for the time being as long as the fur pulling etc doesn't escalate do you think? Maybe it's just more time they need...

They are fairly newcomers to you really and it takes some a couple of weeks to get used to a move and that's within the garden, so yes hopefully he will settle with more time. Good luck!

Yes, keep them together so long as the fur pulling/chasing doesn't escalate. My two females have been bonded for around a year and we still get fur pulling etc every week or so. As long as there is no physical injuries, I don't worry. My dominant female will often randomly decide to chase my less dominant for no apparent reason and will then proceed to want a cuddle.
Personally, I'd give them more hides which have got more than one entrance/exit.
If you can provide something to replicate foraging as eating and foraging together is a very important part of rabbit's social life. Something like an underbed storage box filled with straw that got forage/treats mixed into it. I'd also extend their area a little bit, even if just changed to a 6 x 4 pen.

How do they react when they have the room in the morning/evening?

So sadly they had a big fight this morning! We have separated them as I'm away and my partner couldn't get cover today to monitor them. We did change their pen to a 6x4 but I don't think it's this change that's caused the fight - since Larry bit Molly the other day I think there's been a fight brewing. So they are separated but sharing a grid wall. We are going to bond them from scratch on Monday When I am home and if that doesn't work we'll sadly have to give one back to the rescue, no idea how we are going to choose or actually let one go - it's so sad! We've become so attached so I hope they can be friends again. Anyway this is just an update really on the bonding saga. Fingers crossed starting from scratch fixes things.

I'm sorry they had a fight
I hope bonding on Monday works but if not I wish you the best of luck in finding a solution x

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Have you discussed the bunnies falling out with the rescue? If they bonded the rabbits in the first place, they may want to try again.

Horace the Bold said:

Have you discussed the bunnies falling out with the rescue? If they bonded the rabbits in the first place, they may want to try again.

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I completely missed this thought - thank you

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Thanks both. We've been in touch with the rescue for advice and they are being really helpful. It was a fairly straightforward bond apparently but since they've been house rabbits Larry has completely come out of his shell which I think has upset the balance. They are offering to help re-bond them or re-bond one with another. We're going to see how we get on with the re-bonding next week at ours then go from there. If it's broke we won't try and force it but one last go I think - all fingers crossed.